Kosovo left the pitch

Foda after scandal: “Must not happen again!”

Franco Foda's Kosovars marched off the pitch before the final whistle.(Bild: AFP/Daniel MIHAILESCU)

The Nations League match between Romania and Kosovo in Bucharest was abandoned on Friday evening after a scandal in stoppage time. The Kosovan players had left the pitch, complaining about racist remarks made by the Romanian fans, according to media reports. "That must not happen again", demanded Kosovo team boss Franco Foda.

According to videos, Romanian spectators chanted "Serbia", among other things. The Kosovars then left the pitch. "Unfortunately, respect was lost at the end of the game. That's why we decided to leave the pitch," explained Foda.

After it was unclear for almost an hour whether the match would go ahead, UEFA officially called it off. "The problem was that the situation in the stadium hadn't changed and we all decided not to return to the pitch and not to continue the game. I'm sorry about that, because the team played a great game tonight," said a dejected Foda. 

The point was enough for Romania to secure promotion to League B, while the Kosovars were in need of a win.

Tense relationship
After the scandalous scenes, Foda made it clear: "Everyone should respect the fact that we are Kosovo. I hope that UEFA will take steps in the future to ensure that what happened tonight does not happen again."

Relations between Kosovo and Serbia have been highly tense for years. The reason for this is that Kosovo seceded from Serbia in 1999 and declared independence in 2008.